The experiences of adolescent daughters of mothers diagnosed with borderline personality disorder
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Date
2022-11
Authors
Heppell, Marlize
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
This study aimed to describe, interpret and gain deep insight into the lived experiences of adolescent (aged 12–18) daughters with mothers diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). As this disorder is characterized by substantial impairment in terms of interpersonal functioning and implies a deeply-rooted identity disturbance, the question is how this will affect the mothering abilities of women diagnosed with the disorder. Specifically, mothering adolescent daughters in the fifth developmental phase are confronted with identity forming versus identity confusion. In the adolescent phase, attachment forming has already
been established. Clinical theorists suggest disturbed attachments are expected from someone diagnosed with this psychopathology. It was found that a definite association exists between BPD and insecure attachment forming. The attachment style the child was exposed to will directly influence the development of the child's internal working model and affect the
child's emotional regulation, autonomy, capacity to build and maintain trusting relationships and social and relationship expectations. The major objective of this study was to investigate the risk factors for developing a transgenerational pattern and determine what elements will protect the adolescent daughter from this repeated pattern. What will assist the child in
reaching a point of meaning-making, and what will the role be of psychotherapy and psychiatric interventions?
The study was interpretative and phenomenological, and eleven adolescent daughters with mothers diagnosed with BPD were interviewed on two occasions, six months apart. Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed through a thematic analysis. Four themes were deducted from the interviews: (1) experiencing complex interpersonal dynamics, (2) experiencing emotional dysregulation, (3) not managing the system, and (4) having positive expectancies. The study contributed to the gap in South African literature on the effect of a maternal BPD diagnosis on adolescent daughters and the importance of psycho-therapeutic interventions as a protective measure for developing a transgenerational pattern. The study added to the international literature on this topic and emphasized the differences in adolescents' maternal perceptions within the middle adolescent group (aged 12–18 years).
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Keywords
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Thesis (Ph.D. (Psychology))--University of the Free State, 2022, Women, Adolescent, Psychotherapy, Psychiatric interventions